


TMNT Boyfriend Scenarios (2014/2016)

by GhostyTheGhost



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Reader Insert, Romance, TMNT, back at it again with some x readers, boyfriend scenarios, don't worry you're old enough, long boi, wassup it's ya boi uhhh skinny penis, x Reader, you x turtles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23792734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostyTheGhost/pseuds/GhostyTheGhost
Summary: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle boyfriend scenarios based on the 2014/2016 movies. For readers all shapes and sizes! In this one, the scenarios will only be for the four turtle brothers.Updates are very sporadic, but I love this project and always come back to it =)[I do not own TMNT]
Relationships: Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Leonardo (TMNT)/Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT)/Reader, Raphael (TMNT)/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	1. Note - (You don't have to read this note)

[Y/n] - Your name

[E/c] - Eye color

[H/c] - Hair color

[L/n] - Last name

[F/n] - Friend's name

[H/l] - Hair length

[F/c] - Favorite color

~~~

About where this story is going; I personally don’t like fast stories. Stories where two chapters in, you two think each other are the most perfect beings in all of existence and would take a bullet for each other - because this is not realistic. If you fall asleep, they’ll wake you up, not carry you bridal style to bed, undress you, and tuck you in (at least, definitely not before they even know your last name). This book is going to be a slow burn. And yes, haha, it’s already been pretty slow, 3 years, 3 parts. A crush developing is gonna be slow, interest is gonna be slow, a while of dating, maybe then the first kiss, and it’s gonna be a loooong time (in the book, that is) before we get to the chapters named “Pregnant!!” and “He proposes!!” and “Your wedding day!!” if we even get there. I don’t think I’ll make a part for every single date, but at I'll least include a lot of in-story time, like a summary of a few months of dating, a summary of like a year of friendship, etc., but either way, this is not something I want to rush. I want to immerse you in the story. I want you to become a part of the TMNT universe, not just the girlfriend of a turtle. (Oh, also, I’ve been thinking about slipping in little one-shots for when I need a break from the big story) I want a realistic relationship where you feel actual love and actually connect with the characters. This being said, I am a perfectionist. Every moment of every day, I want to delete this entire story and start again. Sometimes, I’ll take a long time to write a chapter. Sometimes, instead of creating a new chapter, I’ll go back and edit previous chapters so they fit my expectations (realistic, high quality, active foreshadowing, realistic character development, and even higher quality, etc.). This is a project I’ve never stopped thinking about, and I don’t think I’ll be able to continue my life without finishing it (if I ever actually close my fucking laptop and try not to obsessively think about it, haha). This silly little piece of fanfiction is about to get hit by the most obsessive perfectionist workaholic known to this fandom, and I swear to god, updates might be sparse, but I am trying my hardest to crank out the highest quality work I can muster without burning myself out, for you and for me. I doubt many people have stayed over the years, so if you’re new, hello, welcome to my trainwreck. Watch as I single-handedly try to rebuild it.


	2. First Sighting

**Leonardo:**

Okay, maybe it was a bad idea to leave your pocket knife at home, but come on, it's not like you thought you were going to get attacked. You'd walked this route a ton of times and had never come into contact with a hostile person. Then again, during all those walks, the sun was still out. Oh well.  
It was nearly silent, save for the quiet shuffles of your worn sneakers. Before now, you never really thought about how strange the absence of noise was when you were in such a big city. Sure, it was dark, but you were in the city that never sleeps. The ambiance just spooked you even more than you already were.  
"Walking... walking... walking..." You whispered to yourself as you progressed throughout the alley that led to your neighborhood. You heard a small clatter behind you. Immediately, you tensed up, eyes widening as you quickened your pace. "Walking faster, walking faster, walking faster," you hissed, your voice becoming louder and more panicked with each word.  
A second later, you were safely on the sidewalk again. With a relieved sigh, you leaned against the wall of the building. You straightened and continued down the road, hoping to get home as fast as possible. As you passed the next alleyway, you saw a shadow flit across your peripheral vision, and something grabbed your sleeve. You were propelled into the darkness, a small shriek escaping from your lips before your face came into contact with the sticky ground.  
You quickly tried to get up, but a large boot clamped down on your hand. Hard. You let out a pained cry and attempted to move it. A hand came down and grabbed you by the hair. You winced. "L-L-Let me go!" You shouted, your eyes squeezed shut in terror.  
"Shut up," A low voice growled as another one let out a raspy chuckle. All that was running through your mind was that you were going to get molested and killed and robbed. You had to escape. The boot disappeared, and you were shoved upward and against the wall of the alley. You forced yourself to open your eyes. Mentally preparing yourself, you took in a deep breath and glared at the man in front of you with all of the ferocity you could muster even though you were dying from fear on the inside.  
"Let. Me. Go." You snarled, digging your fingernails into the hand that was grasping your hair. His face twisted in pain, but his grip just tightened. The man behind him laughed. The shadow of the fire escape above them obscured their faces, but that didn't stop you from glaring.  
"You're gonna be a lotta fun, kiddo," You could tell the guy was very drunk. The smell of alcohol was oozing off him. You glared at him too. If looks could kill, both of your captors would be six feet under by now.  
Suddenly, both were knocked aside in a blur of green. With the guy's death grip on your hair, you fell too. You let out a sharp yelp as he pulled on your scalp. The hand then disappeared and you heard grunts. You blinked open your eyes and saw a hulking figure literally tossing around the two men. For a moment, you just stared. You quickly stood up, using the wall for support.  
Now that you were on your feet, you could see clearer. Your eyes widened. In front of you was a big, green turtle with a massive shell, two swords, and a strip of blue cloth wrapped around its head. You stood there, frozen, as your savior let the two men run away. He turned to you. Your eyes locked with his sky blue ones.  
 _"Don't judge a book by its cover!"_  
You blinked as the voice of your kindergarten teacher echoed in your head. Once again, you took a moment to gather your courage.  
"... Thank you. For, um, helping me," You said, celebrating on the inside when your voice didn't waver. The turtle-man looked confused for a moment before cautiously replying.  
"You're welcome."  
Frankly, you were a bit surprised it could talk. "Uh--" Not wanting any uncomfortable stretches of silence, you quickly stuck out your hand. "M-My name's [Y/n]. Nice to meet you."  
Okay, Turtle-man looked even more confused now. You realized that he probably didn't get many reactions like this. For a moment, he just stared at your hand before shaking it.  
"Leonardo. It's nice to meet you too," You managed a small smile and so did he. Something beeped on his tool belt. He glanced at it before looking at you again. "Uh, I have to go. Please don't tell anyone about me, or I will find you." You nodded quickly, and he jumped up, scaling the fire escape and disappearing over the rim of the building.  
You just stood there for a few minutes, your gaze locked on where Turtle-man disappeared, replaying the events that just occurred.  
"No, not Turtle-man. Leonardo," You corrected yourself. "Leonardo," You repeated his name. Cringing, you realized how much of a creep you were being. With a sigh, you left the alley and finally made it to your building. You couldn't get over how epic it was that you met a giant talking turtle. It was like you were in one of your comic books or something!  
As you snuggled safely under your blanket in your room, you wondered if you'd ever see the reptilian vigilante again.  
 _Who knows? Maybe I'll need someone to rescue me again._

~~~

**Raphael:**  
Under the twinkling stars, among the never-ending New York City noise, you were curled up in the corner on the roof of your building, reading your favorite book by flashlight. Sure, you could read it online, but nothing beats the traditional hard copy. You liked the old book smell.  
You sighed contently, a smile creeping across your face as you got to your favorite part. No matter how many times you read it, nothing could catch you better than this plot twist.  
While your family didn't know you snuck up to the roof every night to read, you figured what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. The fire escape did scare you at times, but it was better than asking the landlord for the key to the roof door. You didn't have a big fear of heights. In fact, you rather enjoyed looking down and seeing everything going on below. You also liked just laying back and stargazing from time to time, losing yourself in a daydream.  
A large thump interrupted your thoughts. You froze, instinctively pressing the flashlight against the pages of the book so the light snuffed into a warm red glow. You stayed frozen in that position for a couple of seconds, just listening.  
"Stupid Leo... who does he think he is? He can't just boss me around like that!"  
You tensed as you listened to the rumbling, angry voice rant. You heard a lot of bangs. Whoever was on the roof with you was obviously upset. Slowly, you clicked off your flashlight and closed your book. Maybe you could sneak down the fire escape?  
A crash louder than all the others made you flinch. For a moment, everything went silent. Curiosity and the fear that the guy had hurt himself built up until you couldn't take it anymore; you got up and quietly made your way over to the source of the sounds. Wherever he was, he was on the other side of the water tower and roof door.  
Peeking around the leg of the water tower, you nearly dropped your book at what you saw. Standing over a smashed Wi-Fi satellite was a large creature. Even in the dark, you could see the defining features; green skin, large shell, this was a giant, talking turtle!  
 _"Well, anything's possible, my dear!"_  
You remembered your grandmother used to say that all the time when you would ask her about the characters in your books. Studying the figure, you jumped in surprise when it suddenly whirled around towards you. Your gaze locked with his - wide, golden-green eyes.  
Goosebumps erupted all over your arms. You reasoned with yourself; sure, he had giant fork-looking weapons and biceps the size of your younger cousins, but he very clearly had feelings and could talk. You swallowed your fear and forced yourself to speak.  
"H-Hi...," was all you could muster, your fear slowly melting back into curiosity as you continued to watch the turtle-guy.  
"... Hey," He replied cautiously, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Probably wondering why you weren't screaming your head off or running away or throwing your book at him. Oh well.  
Realizing he hadn't killed you yet, you began to relax. Okay, okay, manners! You took a step forward and held out your free hand. "It's, uh, nice to meet you... My name is [Y/n]."  
He seemed shocked. Even you were shocked. Calm under pressure. Who knew?  
".... I'm Raphael." He didn't shake your hand, though, so you let it fall back to your side. You suddenly remembered why you'd investigated in the first place.  
"Um, are you okay? I heard a bunch of bangs and crashes..." Raphael tilted his head to the side, studying you through narrowed eyes as if you were a riddle that he just couldn't wrap his head around. You shifted nervously under his gaze.  
He started to nod, thrusting his thumb in a general direction behind him. "Yeah, um, I'm fine. Just, uh, broke that antenna thing," You nodded, your gaze flitting over to said object.  
"Oh, okay. Just checking."  
After a moment of just standing there awkwardly, you turned and started heading over to the fire escape. A voice made you stop in your tracks and glance over your shoulder.  
"Wait! Uh, wait," Raphael took a few steps towards you. "Uh, don't tell anyone about me. Or else," he warned, his tone becoming threatening. You nodded and watched as he turned around and disappeared into the shadows.  
Your heart thumping and your head spinning, you slowly made your way back to your bedroom window, shutting and locking it behind you before collapsing onto your bed. What a night.  
Setting your book on your nightstand and flicking off your light, you laid there for a while, staring at your ceiling, thinking about what just happened. You wondered if you were going to see Raphael again.  
_Who knows? Life's filled with all sorts of plot twists._

~~~

**Donatello:**

While you didn't have many friends, you did have one close one. [F/n], who insisted on walking you home after the two of you had gone out for pizza. You didn't want to burden your friend, so you decided to convince them to just go home.  
"Nah, I'll be fine. Don't worry 'bout me," You reassured. [F/n] nodded warily before leaving you at the corner, heading for the subway. You took in a deep breath and let it out before going the opposite direction, towards your street. You appreciated their worries, but you could take care of yourself.  
Sure, you were mugged a week ago, but you weren't hurt. [F/n] blamed themselves, though, because they weren't there. They'd left you at the arcade to go do something. You didn't even remember what it was. You shook your head. Why think about the past when you had the present lying right in front of you?  
You put in your earbuds, choosing your favorite playlist on your device before slipping it into your pocket and letting the music consume you. Music was like a portal to another world. Getting lost in the beat and the rhythm and getting caught up in the lyrics was so addicting. You couldn't help but smile as you made your way down the sidewalk.  
Sadly, the flow of music that blocked out the world had to end some point. Your playlist paused in between songs. In that single moment of silence, you heard a muffled clang. Quickly pulling out your earbuds, you looked around. You were in a small, cramped alley that led straight to your building. It reminded you all too well of the one you were mugged in.  
You noticed the lid on the dumpster a few yards away was slightly ajar. Your gut screamed at you to run, but you ignored it. Curiosity took over as you slung your earbuds around your neck and slowly approached the dumpster. Everything seemed to have gone silent, making the moment go more dramatic. You paused to wonder why you couldn't hear traffic. Oh well.  
You crept up to the dumpster. You could hear a faint shuffle and... breathing? You grabbed the lid and flung it open. Your eyes widened. Sitting on garbage bags, shielding its face with two large, green arms, was a giant turtle: shell and all.  
 _"If at first it seems odd, listen a little closer, and you'll realize that oddness in itself is beautiful."_  
The favorite line of your elementary music teacher seemed oddly appropriate for the situation. You took in a deep breath (sort of regretting it a moment later when you breathed in the stench of the garbage).  
"Why... why are you sitting in a dumpster?" The turtle person peeked out from behind its arms, looking at you in confusion. You just watched it curiously.  
Your sibling, who was obsessed with animals, insisted on having the animal channel on 24/7. Thanks to that, you realized that the turtle in front of you showed no signs or markers of being hostile. It was completely passive. Just scared. After a moment, to your surprise, it opened it's mouth and answered.  
"I, uh, didn't want to be seen. Usually, when people see something like me, they scream and run away," You frowned. Yeah, it was true, but it still made you frustrated.  
"That's because people are idiots," You declared firmly. "C'mon, you don't need to hide from me!" You took a step back from the dumpster to give him room to climb out - not a trace of fear left inside you.  
He cautiously climbed out, watching you curiously. You had a bit of a defiant look on your face; as if you were determined to prove everyone wrong. You flashed him a toothy grin and stuck out your hand.  
"Name's [Y/n]. What about you?" He smiled and shook your hand.  
"Donatello," He answered, pushing up his glasses with his other hand. You nearly had to bend backward to look at him. He was tall.  
"Well, Donatello, it's nice to meet you," Can't forget your manners.  
"It's nice to meet you too, [Y/n]."  
Donatello paused as a voice started crackling through the headset around his neck.  
"Donnie! Where are you? We need you over here!"  
Panicking, he quickly replied to it and looked over at you. "Uh, I-I'm sorry, I have to go."  
You watched him disappear around the corner as he ran out of the alleyway. A moment later, much to your surprise, he reappeared.  
"Oh, and uh, don't tell anyone about me, or you shall be punished! And... stuff..." Then he awkwardly disappeared again. This made you smile.  
You sighed, blowing a bit of hair out of your face. Deciding it was too cold to just stand outside, you turned around and headed home.  
Sitting at your desk, you leaned back and looked at your ceiling, thinking about your encounter with Donatello. You didn't get mugged, but you did meet a giant turtle. Just as exciting, but in a positive way. You wondered if you'd ever see your turtle friend again.  
 _He's so tall I'd probably spot him over all the skyscrapers. I'm sure I'll meet him again one day._

~~~

**Michelangelo:**

You weren't one to back down from a dare very easily. Especially when there was money involved. You had a bit of a gambling problem. Which is why when your friends suddenly wanted to play truth or dare, they basically could dare you to do just about anything.  
And that, my friend, is why you're in a sewer. One of your "friends" bet that you couldn't spend three hours in a sewer alone. Of course, you accepted it. You'd been down there to look for dropped items previously, so you had an idea of what you were getting into. You were a pretty patient person, too. Plus, you were broke, and there was $20 on the table. So, why not?  
Letting out a breath, you leaned against the ladder under the manhole. You checked your watch: two hours and forty-three minutes to go. Maybe you should've done this while the sun was out. It'd be after midnight when you finally made it home.  
Deciding that the subject wasn't worth mulling over, you wandered off to explore a little bit. There was actually a surprising amount of moonlight illuminating the paths around you. You turned and headed to your right, believing that you'd be able to find your way back. Maybe that was a poor assumption.  
You checked your watch. One hour and twenty-nine minutes left. You'd been wandering around for that long? You shook your head. Perhaps exploring was a bad idea. You decided to just look for a manhole cover. Then at least you'd be able to go back to the surface.  
In the next three minutes, you managed to get yourself lost even further. You growled in frustration and sat down on a dry patch.  
"Ugh, I'm such an idiot," You muttered quietly. You'd already gotten used to the stench, but you were starting to develop claustrophobia. Closing your eyes, you tried to think about something else. You sat there for who knows how long. Eventually, you'd almost dozed off.  
Soft footsteps reached your ears and you froze. You kept your eyes shut, realizing that whatever was down here probably wasn't friendly. The footsteps got closer until they felt like they were right next to you. They stopped, and you could hear breathing. You sensed something come close to your head. You opened your eyes and came face to face with a large, green head that had an orange strip of cloth tied around its eyes - a giant turtle.  
 _"Friends come in all shapes and sizes."_  
The lesson from a weird kid show you once watched entered your mind as you stared into the shocked blue eyes.  
"Hi," You said without thinking. The turtle guy grinned.  
"Wassup, brah?" You grinned too. This guy could talk. Awesome!  
He backed up so you could get to your feet. Less terrified and more excited, you continued the conversation. "My name's [Y/n].," You declared, pointing at yourself. The turtle guy laughed.  
"Name's Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey, homie!" He held up his three-fingered hand for a high-five, and you happily obliged. You couldn't tell if you were dreaming, high, or if this was actually happening, but you decided to take advantage of it.  
This reminded you of this awesome video game you once played. "You're so cool looking!" Mikey laughed again. "Hey, I'm lost. Any chance you could direct me to the nearest manhole cover?"  
"Sure thing, dude! Follow me!" He grabbed something off his shell and jumped on it. A rocket skateboard! You grinned and sprinted after him. This was so cool! After a few minutes, Mikey stopped by a ladder. You threw him a breathless smile.  
"Thanks, Mikey."  
He slung his arm over your shoulders. "No problemo, brah, that's what friends are for!" You laughed -- you couldn't help it. His bubbly aura was addicting.  
A creepy chuckle made you both freeze. Mikey reached for the nunchucks strapped to his sides, but you stopped him.  
"It's fine, it's just my alarm," You reassured. The dare was over. You'd won! Somehow, though, it wasn't as big a victory as finding a big turtle. Speaking of which...  
"It was nice to meet you, Mikey, but I've gotta go, it's really late," Mikey nodded and engulfed you in a hug.  
"See ya later, dude!" He waved before jumping on his rocket skateboard and disappearing.  
You went through the manhole and emerged in a familiar alley. You were closer to your home than when you started. That was lucky for you; you were exhausted. Somehow, you managed to get home without running into trouble. Too lazy to go to your room, you slumped onto the couch like a sack of potatoes and just laid there, thinking.  
You met a giant turtle that rode a rocket skateboard and lived in the sewers. Balancing on the edge of sleep, you couldn't tell if your overactive imagination had gone one a rampage or if it had actually happened. Either way, you'd won the dare, left the sewer, and were now home. That was enough to make you happy.  
 _I bet you a million bucks I'll end up getting lost again and run into him._

~~~


	3. You Meet Again

**Leonardo:**

Today had probably been the best day of your life. The actor who played your favorite superhero had been doing all-day signings at your local comic book store. Your family surprisingly allowed you to go. Probably because it was on a Saturday. You ended up getting most of your merch signed, along with a few things you'd bought. You even won a raffle and got to pick out three free comic books!  
It was around 9:45 pm, and the comic book store had just closed. You were walking home, your backpack full of nerd goodies. You couldn’t wait to get home, flop down on your bed, and just comic binge.  
In fact, why wait? You stopped next to the alley that led to your neighborhood. Taking out your reading material, you paused, a wave of deja-vu washing over you. A sudden image popped up in your mind: A giant turtle scaling a fire escape. Leonardo! You hadn’t thought about him in a while. It’d only been a month, but the pressure of school and homework had driven you to the point of rarely thinking about the event. You looked at the comic book in your hand. The cover showed a few superheroes fighting a giant, reptilian beast with glaring red eyes. You frowned, vaguely remembering two katanas on Leonardo’s shell (you knew they were katanas because you’d stayed up ‘til 3 am that night researching turtles and Japanese weapons).  
Surely he didn’t... _kill_ people, right? Your stomach squeezed. Even though you didn’t know him that well, he'd seemed like a good guy. Then again, you didn't know if you could trust your judgment.  
You shook off all the thoughts, telling yourself that you had to hurry up and get home before 10. You went ahead and ran through the alley, turning the corner so quickly you nearly fell over. Then, you ran into something and DID fall over. The comic book flew out of your hand. You looked up at the person standing over you.  
“Oh, look, it’s the nerd.” Jason sneered. You grimaced-- this guy was insufferable. You ignored him and got up, reaching down to grab your comic book. Jason’s boot clamped down on it, smudging it with mud. You froze, another wave of deja-vu crashing into you. You stood up and glared at him.  
“I just bought that. Get off of it.” You wanted to hit that smug smile off his face. Safety just a few feet behind him, and you would’ve run if your comic book hadn't been trapped under his foot.  
“Or what? Whaddaya gonna do? Call your Godzilla friend?” Your mind went straight to Leonardo. But it... couldn’t be. He had to be talking about the comic book.  
“’ Godzilla friend’? C’mon, seriously, get off of it. That costs a lot of money.”  
Jason laughed. “Sure. I know you bribed that faggot down at the comic book store to make sure you won that raffle.”  
“What?”  
“Don’t act dumb. Trey was there -- really wanted to win that, too, but then you showed up.” Jason growled.  
You bristled. The nerve of this guy! “Is that seriously what this is all about?”  
“I don’t like it when people play my friends.”  
“I didn’t play your friend! I didn’t play anyone! Give me my damn comic book and get the fuck out of my way!” You shouted, completely fed up with his bullshit. And then, like the mature 17-year-old he was, Jason shoved you onto the pavement. You landed on your butt again, wincing.  
“Don’t fucking yell at me, asshole!” Why was this guy even on your street? Why was he still alive? How come his temper hadn’t set him aflame and killed him yet? You got up, gritting your teeth.  
“What’s your problem? Why can’t you just leave me alone?!” You said, squeezing your hands into fists and digging your nails into your palms.  
Jason opened his mouth to shout at you again when he was suddenly knocked over. You stumbled back in shock, staring at his now limp body.  
“You okay?” Leonardo asked. You looked up at him, mortified, relieved, and excited all at the same time.  
“Um... yeah,” You replied, looking back at Jason. “Is he...?”  
Leonardo’s eyes widened. “Oh- no, no, he’s just unconscious.” You nodded. Your dirtied, wrinkled comic book was on the ground in between you and Leonardo. With a sigh, you picked it up, half-heartedly trying to smooth down the edges.  
"Hi, again, by the way." You said. Leonardo smiled, then looked at your comic book and frowned. He took it out of your hands, silently forcing out the creases with his giant hands. He handed it back to you a moment later. You were awestruck. Most of the dirt was gone, and the wrinkles were barely visible.  
“Thanks! That’s so much better.” You flipped through it, checking to see if any of the pages ripped.  
“You’re welcome,” Leonardo said. “Is that the new Ultimate Space Warriors one?”  
You looked up at your turtle friend, surprised. “You read it too?” He nodded, looking sheepish. You grinned, suddenly giddy at the thought of having a giant turtle friend who shared your interests.  
“You can read it after I’m done with it!” You offered. “Here, I’ll give you my phone number... Wait, do you even have a phone?” Leonardo nodded, and you two exchanged numbers, agreeing that you’d text him once you finished the comic.  
You waved goodbye to him and started to walk back home when you noticed Jason, still sprawled face-first on the sidewalk. You considered moving him into a more comfortable position.  
“... Nah.”  
Once you got home, you flopped onto your bed, opting to daydream instead of reading your comic books. You thought of Leonardo’s turtle shell-shaped phone and how small your phone looked in his hand. You wondered if he’d be okay with you just texting him for no reason. How could you not? He was a turtle-man, for christ’s sake! That was so EPIC! You grinned widely; this was so awesome that you didn’t care if you were actually going insane. If so, your imagination awesome.  
 _I can’t wait to finish the comic book so that I can text him._

~~~

**Raphael:**

You were walking down the street, books tucked under your arm, backpack slung over your shoulder, shuffling home from the library. You hadn’t meant to stay until it closed, yet here you were, terrified out of your mind. What would your family say? What if you never made it home? If you got lost? If you got kidnapped?  
If they grounded you from going to the library?  
You told yourself to stop being so silly. Your family was rational. Right? Either way, you were going to get home, and they were going to react to it. Simple as that. No point in worrying about it.  
Though, you were still afraid of running into someone. Granted, not many people out right now, but you always seemed to attract trouble these days.  
The thought made you think of what happened about a month ago (nearly everything reminded you of it). The day you met the giant turtle, Raphael. You hadn’t seen him since, and you wondered if you ever would. He didn’t seem like the talking type either. More like the mysterious, brooding character in books, the character you never really understood. He probably kept to himself and would make sure to be even more careful after you’d discovered him.  
You sighed. Man, if only you were a character in a book. Maybe then everything would work in your favor.  
Glancing around, you noticed with a spark of relief that you were almost at your apartment. Then you felt dread. Maybe your parents would be asleep? You doubted it, but it was worth hoping for.  
A clang rang out from somewhere behind you and you jumped, clutching your books tightly to your chest. You whirled around to see nothing other than a knocked over trashcan. You almost relaxed when you realized that you weren’t the one who knocked it over. Backing up slowly, you listened intently, waiting for a threat to jump out.  
Suddenly, someone yanked you into an alley, your scream muffled as a large hand clamped over your face. Who had a hand this big?! The hand disappeared and you spun around to face someone-- a green someone.  
“Raphael? YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” You whisper-shouted.  
He shushed you. “You’re bein’ followed.” You paused. Followed? By who? He motioned towards the entrance of the alley, and you peeked out. There, plain as day, where a bunch of teenagers walking down the sidewalk, searching for something. You recognized them as a group of people from your school. You weren’t very shocked that it was them since you’d heard plenty of rumors that they were part of a street gang.  
Not wanting to be seen, you backed away.  
“Jesus, I’m glad you were here to warn me.” You told Raphael, a shiver going down your spine at the thought of what could’ve happened. The giant reptile just nodded.  
“How did you know they were following me?”  
Raphael hesitated. “I was in the area, y’know, patrolling. I saw you walking alone and those creeps tailing ya, and I knew something was wrong.” You nodded, wondering why he was “patrolling.”  
“You should go home. It’s dangerous to be out at night.”  
Nodding again, you peeked out of the alley again. There was no sign of the boys, so you guessed it was safe. Before heading home, you thanked Raphael again, who just grunted.  
Then you were off, walking fast to decrease the chances of getting jumped in the three blocks that separated you from your apartment building. You made it without getting killed, which was a win in your book. As you were stepping inside, in your peripheral, you saw a shadow on top of a nearby building. Glancing over, you saw Raphael, watching. You waved, and after a moment, he waved back.  
Finally, in your room again, you collapsed onto your bed. Your parents had been asleep (thank god), but you knew you’d get all kinds of hell in the morning for staying out until 10 pm on a school night. You gently set your books on your desk before noticing a slip of paper stuck to the front of your bag. You took it off.  
It read:  
 _“I can’t be everywhere at once. Gimme a ring if you ever need help.  
xxx-xxx-xxxx  
-Raph”_  
You almost laughed. So now you were in touch with your Hulk friend. Hulk. Seemed fitting. You went ahead and added his contact to your phone, labeling it “Hulk” with a photo of a red scarf as the profile picture.  
Flopping onto your bed, you considered texting him. Then you questioned the type of phone he had or if it even had texting. Where would he even get a phone? You shook your head and tossed your phone onto your desk. Regardless of if it did or didn't have texting, you didn’t want to tick him off. You could tell he wasn’t 100% comfortable around you yet.  
 _It’s cool, though,_ you thought. _Friendship takes time._

~~~

**Donatello:**

“HOLY SKITTLE UNICORNS!!” You glanced up at the sound of your younger sister’s voice. “WE’RE OUTTA MAGIC KANGAROO BREW! THE TEA PARTY IS RUINED! NOOOOO!!”  
Things like this usually happened. You knew she just had an overactive imagination, but sometimes you wondered... Either way, you knew she’d continue yelling if she didn’t get more “Kangaroo Brew,” so you got up and grabbed your shoes and wallet. You didn’t want your parents to come in and force you to. You decided to do it yourself.  
The moment you stepped out of your room, your sister was all over you.  
“WARRIOR [Y/N]!! WE’RE OUTTA KANGAROO BREW! YOU NEED ‘TA GO GET SOME, OR THE TEA PARTY IS RUINED!!” You couldn’t help but smile at her dramatics.  
“Don’t worry, Warrior [Y/n] is going to fetch some now.”  
She looked relieved. “Here, it’s dangerous to go alone. Take this!” She held up a hand-made bracelet crafted from multi-colored construction paper. You truly felt honored (even if you weren’t the bracelet type).  
You bowed. “Thank you, Princess.”  
Your sister slid it onto your wrist before leading you to the door. She “bade you farewell,” and you set off on your quest for Kangaroo Brew.  
The night before, you’d downloaded a bunch of rap instrumentals onto your music player. You put in your earbuds and let the music fill your head.  
You found yourself nodding along to the beat, every once and a while doing a twirl or little tap dance-like moves with your feet. The fast-paced ones made you dance, and the slower ones made you think. The walk to the grocery store ended up being an emotional roller coaster.  
When you finally did make it to the store, you dutifully picked out the milk- er, I mean, Kangaroo Brew- paid, and left, the plastic bag swinging back and forth as you walked.  
An incredible drum and guitar duet came on, and you couldn’t help but roll out a few dance moves. Sadly, though, your music player died right in the middle of it. You stopped, taking it out and looking at it, a sad frown on your face. Oh well, you thought, at least I’m almost home.  
A small crash sounded from the small alley a few feet behind you. You turned around, wondering if someone was in trouble or something. You walked over and peeked in, feeling a wave of deja-vu wash over you. A stick was lying next to a sideways trashcan. It sure wasn't your average stick; it looked hand-crafted and had strips of metal on it.  
Curious, you walked over to it and picked it up. It was smooth and cold, with faint indentations in the wood for gripping it. How did it get here? Did it fall? You glanced up and saw a shadow on the fire escape above you. You froze.  
“Uh… hi.” Donatello said, waving awkwardly. You hadn’t seen him in like a month, and now here he was! You grinned.  
“Hey, what’s up?” You held up the stick. “Is this yours?”  
“Uh, yeah, heh, I dropped it.”  
He jumped down and you gave it to him. He thanked you. “What were you doing up there anyway?” You asked. He paused.  
“Just patrolling.” He replied after a moment. You raised an eyebrow.  
“’ Patrolling’?”  
Donatello chuckled nervously. “Uh, yeah. Patrolling. For, um, bad guys.”  
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.”  
He shifted. “What are you doing out here? I mean, it’s sort of late, and New York isn’t the safest place.”  
You suddenly remembered why you’d been walking around in the first place. “Oh, yeah. My little sister needed milk for her tea party, but we were out, so I just stopped by the drug store to pick up some.” You lifted the bag in your hands.  
“Milk for a tea party?”  
“Don’t ask.” Donatello smiled. You smiled too, then frowned. “I guess I should be heading back then. She’ll get fussy if I take too long.”  
“Oh, yeah, of course,” Donatello said. “But wait- here, here’s my number. So we can talk again- as friends-- only if you want to, though, I mean. I’m not pressuring you or anything--”  
You laughed, making him stop. You took the piece of paper from him and stuffed it in your pocket.  
“Thanks. I’ll text you. See you later, Donnie.” He grinned and waved as you left the alley, heading home with a smile glued to your face. You had the phone number of a giant turtle who considered you a friend. Life really couldn’t get any cooler at this point.  
When you made it home, your sister was hopping around the living room impatiently, hugging her stuffed rabbit. She squealed when she saw you.  
“WARRIOR [Y/N] HAS RETURNED WITH THE SACRED KANGAROO BREW!! IT’S TIME FOR CEBRELATION!” You chuckled at her mispronunciation of “celebration” and joined her for her tea party celebration. You two had Kangaroo Brew and cookies until your parents got home.  
 _Man, what an incredible adventure._

~~~

**Michelangelo:**

You sighed, rolling onto your back. You were lying on your messy bed, hungry and bored out of your mind. Home alone, you were too lazy to make anything but too impatient to wait for someone to get home. Coming to a conclusion, you got up and started looking around for your shoes.  
Grabbing your shoes, wallet, and a thin hoodie, you left the building and went on your merry way.  
It was chilly outside. Too cold to be sweater weather, yet not entirely coat weather. You thought you would be fine until the wind kicked in. Though, surprisingly, you managed to make it to the pizza shop before you caught hypothermia.  
You stepped into the shop, sighing contently as the smell of cheese and grease warmed your face. You ordered, barely patient enough to sit through the waiting time. When they finally finished your pizza, you eagerly hopped over to the counter, eyeing your food hungrily.  
You gingerly handed over the last of your gambling budget to the bored-looking man behind the counter. Briefly, you wondered if it was worth it. Only briefly, though. The smell of the pizza quickly changed your mind.  
The walk home mainly consisted of fighting the urge to stuff the slices down your throat and worrying that it would be cold by the time you got to your apartment. Luckily, neither scenario ended up happening.  
Soon enough, your building came into view. Pausing at the bottom step, you balanced the pizza in one hand and rummaged through your pockets with the other, searching for your keys. Switching hands, you looked through your other pockets, only managing to find a piece of lint and the keys to your apartment. If you didn't have the keys to the building itself, though, then they were totally useless.  
"Are you serious right now?" You growled at the fact that you managed to lock yourself out. Again.  
You banged on the door for a little while, but no one answered. With a sigh, you sat down on the steps, gripping the pizza box. The gentle but constant wind annoyed you to the point of standing up and going into the alleyway next to your building. You sat down against the wall at the mouth of the alley, fiddling with the cover of the pizza box. Knowing that it would get cold before anyone got home and let you in, you decided it wouldn't hurt to eat a few slices.  
Flavor exploded into your mouth the moment you bit into a slice. You licked your lips, savoring it.  
You were on your third slice when the manhole cover in the alley with you started moving. Peering over the top of the pizza box, you watched as it lifted, and a green head popped out.  
"Mikey!" Mikey glanced over and grinned.  
"Hey, dude!" He noticed your pizza box and he seemed to light up even more. "Woah, you got pizza!"  
"Yup! Want some?" You offered.  
"Hell yeah, I do!" He replied, scrambling over to you. The two of you spent a while just sitting there, munching on pizza.  
"So why were you coming out of the sewer?" You asked through a mouth full of pizza.  
Mikey gave you an exasperated look."I live down there, silly! Remember?" You rolled your eyes.  
"Well yeah, but why did you come up to the surface?"  
"Oh! Me and my brothers go patrolling at night, and I was goin' solo tonight!"  
"Nice. What do you guys patrol for?" You reached for another slice.  
It was Mikey's turn to roll his eyes. "Bad guys, duh!" You chuckled.  
"Is that why you've got those sweet nunchucks?"  
"You know it!"  
"Have you ever beat anyone up with them before?" That got him going. A while later, Mikey was telling you about some big alien brain thing that looked like chewed bubblegum when your phone dinged. You glanced at it. It was your alarm telling you to go to bed.  
"Jeez, is it that late?" Mikey exclaimed, jumping up. "Sorry, [Y/n], I gotta go!"  
You waved him off. "Don't worry; it's cool. Here, take a slice for the road."  
"You're the best, dude."  
"Isn't it obvious?" You said. Mikey grinned, stuffing half the slice in his mouth and jumping onto the fire escape, quickly disappearing over the edge of the building. Staring at the place where he left, you realized that you'd left your bedroom window open.  
"I'm a fucking idiot." You muttered, taking the remains of your pizza and climbing up the wobbly steel stairs. You closed your window but kept it unlocked, just in case. Pausing, you noticed a bright green sticky note on the inside of the pizza box lid. It was a note from Mikey, but his handwriting was so jerky that you could barely read the message (it said something about pizza and hanging out). The only neat part was a phone number, and then a signature. You smiled, putting the sticky note on your alarm clock so that you'd remember to add his contact in the morning. You left the box on your desk and flopped onto your bed, mashing your face into the pillow. Feeling slowly seeped back into your face and you sighed.  
 _Best night ever._

~~~


	4. Texting

**Leonardo** :  
Another day, another lunch spent at the empty table near the trash cans. The only person who ever sat with you was occasionally the janitor, who didn’t even speak English and probably didn’t even know you existed. You didn’t mind, though, because lunch was your favorite time of the day. Why? Food, of course! That, and no stupid lectures or schoolwork, so you could focus on your comic books or daydreaming about being a superhero or living in a world of superheroes.  
Today’s meal was chicken strips with a side of green beans. You didn’t care much for the green beans but munched on a chicken strip while reading the last few pages of that Ultimate Space Warriors comic book. Every page had you turning to the next so quickly, a couple of times you nearly ripped the page. You put the half-eaten chicken strip down and fell entirely into the world the comic book showed you, fighting next to the superheroes to stop buildings from collapsing onto the innocent people of the city.  
All too soon, there were no more pages to turn. The only thing left to read was the back of the comic, which was just a summary of the book itself. You sighed, resting your head on your hand. Why did the best things have to come to an end so quickly? You fiddled with the corner of the back cover, a little frustrated. It was getting good, too! What now?  
Among the jumbled thoughts tumbling around in your brain, one made you do a double-take. Leonardo. You straightened, grinning excitedly. You took out your phone and went to his contact and texted him.  
**You** : “Hey! It’s [Y/n]. I’ve finished the comic book. =)”  
You sat there for about ten seconds, impatiently waiting for a response before realizing that he was probably asleep, seeing as you’d only seen him at night. A little embarrassed, you put your phone down. You looked around, trying to distract yourself. Unfortunately, the first thing that caught your eye happened to be Jason, sitting two lunch tables away, glaring at you. As soon as your eyes locked, a wicked sneer split his face in half, and he stood up, two other guys following. You gritted your teeth as he sauntered over to you, plopping himself down in the seat next to you. He slung an arm over your shoulders, jolting you towards him. His greasy, unkempt odor filled your nostrils and you gagged, pulling away. His nails dug into your shoulder as his other hand grabbed one of your chicken strips, gnawing on it.  
“What’s up, fucktard? Thanks for getting me lunch,” he said, chewing with his mouth open. His two goons snickered, each grabbing a chicken strip too.  
“That’s MY lunch; let go of me!” You growled, trying to push him away. His hand snatched your wrist, gripping it like a vice. You winced.  
“YOUR lunch? No. I said it’s MY lunch,” he snarled, bits of spit landing on your face. You scrunched your face up. He grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him. “My. Lunch. Mine.” He hissed. He let go of your face, pushing you away. He stood up, grabbed your last full chicken strip, and dumped your tray on the floor before walking away, his goons laughing and following behind him.  
You sat there, sore wrist, stinging shoulder, scratched chin, seething. Footsteps behind you made you glance over - a teacher. You were about to let loose, about to tell them about Jason, when they glared at you.  
“[Y/n]! What is wrong with you? Clean up this mess and go to the office, right now!” They snapped. Your jaw dropped.  
“What? But I--”  
“Are you arguing with me?”  
“... No.”  
You cleaned up the mess, head lowered in shame. You could feel the stares around the lunchroom, hear the giggles. Your blood boiled. How badly you wanted to hurl the tray in your hand directly at Jason’s skull. Instead, you scraped the mashed green beans into the trash and put it on the cafeteria shelf. You trudged to the office, where they gave you a warning and sent you back to lunch. Instead, you went to the bathroom and sat in the stall, so angry you thought you might cry.  
A ding distracted you. You pulled out your phone.  
**Leonardo** : “Hey [Y/n] :) I can come by tonight if that’s okay.”  
You took a deep breath. Right, the comic book.  
**You** : “Yeah, that’s okay.”  
**Leonardo** : “How’s your day going, by the way?”  
You blinked. Not many people asked you that. You thought about just saying “fine” or telling the truth. The anger in your chest didn’t have any other outlet, though.  
**You** : “Well, not great, to be honest.”  
**Leonardo** : “Oh, I’m sorry. Want to talk about it?”  
You told him about Jason and the scene in the lunchroom and the teacher and everything.  
**Leonardo** : “Is he the same guy who stepped on your comic book?”  
**You** : “Yeah.”  
**Leonardo** : “He seems to harass you a lot. Do you know why?”  
**You** : “Not really.”  
**Leonardo** : “Well, I can’t help you when you’re in school, but you can always vent to me :), and if he tries to bully you outside of school, I can teach him a lesson like last time, haha.”  
You giggled, feeling much better. The bell rang suddenly, making you jump a little. Lunch was over.  
**You** : “Lunch is over, I have to go, but I’ll see you tonight, right?”  
**Leonardo** : “You can count on it. :)”  
You smiled and quickly left the bathroom, ignoring a side-eye you got on the way out. Probably because you didn’t flush (granted, you didn’t do anything). For once in the longest time, you didn’t feel so alone. Leo was so kind. You felt like you could already call him a friend.  
A friend, huh? Yeah, I like that. I needed that.

Back at home, you tossed your bag onto the floor and set the comic on your desk. You would still have to wait until dark before Leonardo came, but knowing that someone would be coming to hang out with you (or at least to say "hi") made you feel less alone. You ate dinner, watched some TV, and then crashed on your bed and read some fan fiction to pass the time. Eventually, there was tapping on your window. For a second, you were confused before you remembered. You jumped up and opened your window. Leonardo stood on your fire escape, holding something. You grinned.  
"Hey!" You said, grabbing the comic book off of your desk. He bent down so that his head fit through the window.  
"Hey. I hope your day is going okay now," he said, smiling. You nodded, handing him the comic book. You started babbling about how much you enjoyed this edition and how you just knew he would love it too. Then you realized he was watching you, smiling.  
"Oh, sorry for rambling, heh," you said sheepishly. Leonardo chuckled.  
"It's okay. I'm excited too. Here," he handed you a packet of something. You turned it over-- it was ramen noodles! You grinned. "I know you've probably already had dinner and everything, but I figured I'd bring something since those jerks took your lunch." He glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry if I overstepped."  
You looked up, confused. "What? Of course not! This is the nicest thing anyone's done for me in so long! Thank you, Leonardo." You said, smiling brightly. He returned the smile and stood up. He said he'd bring the comic back the next night, and you told him he didn't need to rush. Then he left. You set the ramen noodles on your desk, feeling very happy. No one had ever given you a gift simply out of kindness before. You felt a little special. You fell asleep feeling oddly bubbly, just like the other times you'd seen Leonardo. Maybe _he_ was the something special.

~~~

 **Raphael** :  
You weren’t able to fall asleep until about midnight last night thanks to the whole gang and Raphael encounter. As a consequence, you woke up late and missed the bus. By the time you ran to school, the front doors had locked. No one was in the front office, and you remembered that there was supposed to be an assembly first hour. You were on the verge of tears. First, getting home late on a school night and then missing school? Your family was going to rip you to shreds. You were alone. And it scared you. You started walking home, deciding that you didn’t really care anyway, it was Friday, a half-day, and the main thing was the irrelevant assembly. Though, reasoning with yourself didn’t stop you from shaking like a leaf, trying not to cry. You felt like you’d royally fucked up, that it was all your fault. No matter how many times you told yourself that you were okay, your emotions didn’t listen to reason or logic. You cursed yourself and sniffed, wiping the tears off your face. You tried to think of somewhere you could go. Your family was at home, expecting you to be at school, which wouldn’t notice your absence anyway. You couldn’t go home. Not until noon. It was only 7:45 a.m.  
The library, you thought. I could go to the library. If anyone asks, I can say I’m studying. You took deep breaths. Yes, you would do that. You started walking faster, heading towards the library, which wasn’t too far away. Your fingers fiddled with the zipper of your jacket as you tried not to seem too suspicious. Having someone call you out for skipping class, however unintentional, would not be good. The tear stains on your cheeks and messy hair from running didn’t help your case, either. You smoothed it down and collected yourself on the way to the library. You could make this work.  
Except you couldn’t. The library wasn't open until 10 a.m. You leaned against the wall, sliding down until you were sitting with your knees pressed up against your chest. The brash wind blew your hair all over the place. You had nowhere to go. You knew it was a little dramatic, but it didn’t stop your chest from constricting. You’d never been in this situation before. You always had a plan. Or at least, someone to turn to. Who did you have?  
... One person came to mind. Someone who wouldn’t rat you out and had helped you before, even if you hadn’t asked. Raphael. Without thinking, you pulled out your phone, realizing how cold your fingers were. You hesitated before typing out the message.  
**You** : “Hey... it’s Y/n. I kind of need some help if you’re not too busy. It’s okay if you can’t, though.”  
Hitting send, you bit your lip, again feeling a little childish for feeling so abandoned and lost over something like this. He probably wouldn’t even answer. Even if he did, what could he do, realistically? The sun was rising. It was busy out. You doubted he had an apartment of his own, and even if he did, he barely knew you. Why would he take you there? The thoughts just kept tumbling down on top of you, and you wanted to go back and delete the message. But as you opened up your phone, you saw him typing. Your breath caught in your throat.  
**Raphael** : “Where are you?”  
**You** : “Sitting outside the library.”  
**Raphael** : “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Stay put.”  
You felt a wave of relief wash over you. You sent back “ok” and put your phone back into your pocket, wiping your face and making sure you were wearing your backpack. A few minutes later, you heard a faint thump in the alleyway behind the library. You quickly walked over. There Raphael was, standing in the shadows. You felt the tears build up again.  
“Hey.” He said as you walked up to him. His eyes widened as you started crying. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?”  
You sniffled and wiped your face, gripping the strap of your bag. “C-can I have a hug?”  
He blinked. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, c’mere,” he dropped to one knee so that he was closer to your height and opened his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face against your sleeve. His arms tentatively wrapped around your torso. You trembled in his arms, crying softly. For a little while, he just held you.  
“Wanna talk about it?” Raphael eventually asked. You shook your head.  
“It’s stupid.”  
Raphael pulled away, looking you in the eyes. “Stupid stuff makes me angry, too. Doesn’t stop me from bein’ angry.”  
You gave a watery smile. “Getting angry and smashing antennas on random buildings?” He cracked a smile, and you giggled.  
“Yeah, gettin’ angry over stupid stuff makes me do that.”  
You two sat down together, and you told him about that morning, and how much it scared you to not only be alone, but to have no one to help you, and to feel like you had nowhere to go. He sat there and listened to you, and strangely, just talking it out made you feel so much better.  
“And yeah, the only person I had was you, so that’s why I texted you,” you finished, looking up at Raphael. “Sorry if I was a bother...”  
“I gave you my number so you could text me when you needed help. I meant that [Y/n].” That was the first time you heard him say your name out loud. It made you feel safer.  
“Thank you, Raphael.” You replied quietly.  
“Of course,” he said, shifting and pulling out his phone, which was shaped oddly like a turtle shell. “I think my friend April can let you stay at her place until you can go back home. If you’re okay with that.” He glanced at you. You nodded. He called his friend and spoke with her briefly before hanging up. “A’ight, she’ll meet you in front of the library for a few minutes. I’ll stay wit’ ya until she gets here.”  
You thanked him again and stood up, hugging him once more. He gave you a one-armed hug and smiled.  
“Y’know, you’re a weirdo.” He said bluntly. You giggled and raised an eyebrow.  
“I’m the weirdo?”  
He grinned. “You’re the one huggin’ big mutant turtles.”  
You smiled. “It’s not my fault you’re so nice.”  
He laughed. “Yeah, nice. I guess I'm just a nice guy.” You laughed, too, feeling a lot happier and calmer than 15 minutes ago. A car pulled up to the front of the library and stopped. A tall woman with black hair stepped out, looking around.  
“There’s April. You can trust ‘er, she’s nice. I’ll see ya later, shorty.” He said, patting your shoulder. You threw him a smile.  
“See ya.”  
April let you eat some frozen pizza at her place, and Raphael texted you a few times to check up on you, which you thought was sweet. When it was time for you to go home, April drove you and talked about how she was "glad the turtles had a friend their age" now.  
"Turtles?" You asked. You knew Raphael looked like a turtle, so the fact that he was one wasn't surprising, but were there more?  
April glanced at you. "Oh, do you only know Raphael?" You nodded. She smiled. "Well, he doesn't seem to mind you. He'll probably introduce you to his brothers eventually." The car slowed to a halt; you were at your apartment building. You said your goodbye's and went inside, mind reeling a little. How many of them were there? Actually, probably a lot, because didn't turtles lay a lot of eggs? Where did they even come from? You kind of wanted to ask, but you felt it might be insensitive. You sighed; maybe April was right. If Raphael thought you were okay, he would probably introduce you to his family, and then perhaps you would get some answers. If they were anything like Raphael, you decided, then you knew you'd like them.

~~~

 **Donatello** :  
You had insomnia. Your family blamed it on "those damn electronics," but in reality, no amount of time spent lying in bed surrounded by darkness allowed you to fall asleep. No matter how tired you were. So, most nights, you stayed up and worked. Which is why tonight, you'd snuck out and were currently at central park, knee-deep in some trig homework. You were struggling to wrap your brain around the concept of the latest unit. God, graphs suck. How were you supposed to know if the maximum point was negative infinity or positive infinity? What the hell did that even me? You sighed and tossed your pencil onto your notebook, leaning back. You needed help. But who did you know that would be awake at one in the morning and be smart enough to understand trigonometry? [F/n] was only in Algebra 2, and was having enough trouble with that. Other than them, you didn’t have any friends...  
Wait. Donatello; he was probably awake, right? I mean, every time you saw him, it was dark out. He had a bunch of gadgets; he was probably smart. Well, smarter than you, you bet. You took out your phone, remembering that he gave you his number.  
**You** : “Hey, are you smart?”  
He responded in less than thirty seconds.  
**Donatello** : “Uh, who is this?”  
You smacked your forehead. Whoops.  
**You** : “Oh, [Y/n], sorry.”  
**Donatello** : “Oh, it’s okay. And yes, I’d like to think I’m smart. Why do you ask? :).”  
**You** : “I need some help with trig homework if you know anything about that.”  
You bit your lip, tapping the side of your phone. If he didn’t know, that was okay. Homework wasn’t mandatory, but you'd understand jack shit if you didn't do it.  
**Donatello** : “Can you send a picture of what you’re stuck on?”  
You took a picture of the problem and what you had down so far, as well as what notes you had.  
**You** : “It’s stupid graphing stuff. I don’t know how I’m supposed to find the domain and range.”  
He didn’t respond for a couple of minutes. You spent the time drawing a little cartoon turtle. Finally, he sent back an explanation of the graph equations and lines, explaining how they showed you the domain and range and explaining what domain and range were. He sent back your pictures, edited with red lines and words, pointing out parts that gave you bits and pieces of the answers. At first, you didn’t understand it, so you just started writing it down, but very quickly, it clicked. Damn, Donatello was a good teacher.  
**You** : “Holy shit, you’re good, thanks! I know how to do it now, haha.”  
**Donatello** : “No problem, :) feel free to text me any time you need help with anything.”  
**You** : “Will do!”  
You finished up your homework and yawned. It was nearing three in the morning. You closed your books and stuffed your papers back into your bag before heading home.  
With your warm bed so close, you smiled and opened the front door. Or rather, you tried to; the knob didn’t turn. It was locked. And you didn’t have your keys with you, because you could’ve sworn you left it unlocked. A spike of fear exploded in your chest. How were you going to get in? There wasn’t another way in. No, wait, yes, there was; you could get in through your bedroom window. You’d gone on the fire escape before, to get to the roof. It was a little scary but doable.  
Back outside, you quickly made your way up the fire escape, trying to remember if your window was unlocked. Did you ever even lock it? A little lost in your thoughts, you nearly ran headfirst into a bird's nest hanging down from the edge of the railing above you. Curious, you reached up to touch it, wondering when it got here and if birds actually lived in it. Suddenly three pigeons exploded from it, feathers flying towards everywhere, one bird hitting you smack in the face with its wing. The first thing that came to your mind was the many diseases that birds feathers carry, making you freak a little. You frantically wiped your face, stepping backward. Too bad there wasn’t much behind you. You flipped over the low railing of the fire escape, only a squeak making it out of your lips as you watched your world somersault you. Your foot caught between the two bars of the railing, grabbing you and jerking your fall to a stop. You were stuck there, leg aching, upside-down, your bag dangling from one arm. A folder slipped out and fell, fluttering down to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere. It looked like your world history stuff.  
Breathing hard and fast, you tentatively tried to move a little to get some leverage. Your foot slipped, and you froze, realizing that if you moved anymore, your shoe would come loose, and you would drop four stories onto your head. You tried to stay calm and still, but you were shaking in terror. You didn’t have the core strength to pull your upper body up, and any other movement would cause you to fall. You needed help, and one person came to mind; Donatello. Shakily, you got your phone. It rang a couple of times before he answered.  
“[Y/n]?”  
“H-hey Donnie, are you busy?” You said, your voice high and strained. You heard shuffling.  
“Not really, what’s wrong?” He already sounded worried.  
“Oh, not much,” you said, instinctively trying to lighten the mood. “Just dangling from my foot off the fire escape, y’know, a few stories in the air.”  
You heard him stand up quickly. “Do you need help?” You laughed airily.  
“No shit.”  
“Where are you?” You told him your address, and he said he’d be there in a minute, and to try not to move. He was about to hang up when you stopped him.  
“Can you stay on the line? If I die, I don’t wanna be alone, haha.” It was less humorous and more desperate than you intended.  
“Yeah, of course.” He said quickly. You heard shuffling and then a lot of movement. A minute later, you heard a sound echo from below and from your phone. Donatello was climbing out of the manhole in the alley beneath you. He quickly climbed up to you.  
“Hey, funny seeing you here,” you rasped, getting light-headed. Your foot was going numb.  
“Hold on, [Y/n],” he said, grabbing your leg. Your foot dislodged immediately, and your heart lept into your throat, but Donatello didn’t drop you. He lifted you back up and helped you stand up. You grabbed his arm, steadying yourself, wobbling. A rush went through your head, and you felt like you might pass out.  
“Are you okay?” You looked up to see Donnie’s alert and worried gaze. He was checking your foot and your leg before studying your face. “Any pain? How long were you stuck there?”  
“Not long, thanks for getting me, I thought I was a goner, heh.” Your mouth was dry. You couldn’t joke away your fear. And that in itself scared you. Donatello frowned.  
“What were you doing anyway? It’s nearly four in the morning. You should be asleep.” You smiled weakly.  
“I couldn’t sleep even if I tried. Figured I’d make myself productive.”  
“By doing what? Doing gymnastics on the fire escape?” He said, getting a little sassy as he bent down and took your foot, looking at the marks the bars had left on your ankles.  
“Yeah, just a hobby of mine,” you snorted. He laughed a little. You told him about your insomnia and about how you sneak out and do work. You told him about the locked door and how you couldn’t just ask someone to let you in. He seemed to understand. He made you promise to bring your keys with you next time, though. You sheepishly agreed, and the two of you parted ways. Back in your room, you flopped down onto your bed. Exhaustion washed over you, and you laughed a little, thinking about the night's antics. When did your life get so hectic?

~~~

 **Michelangelo** :  
You weren’t much of a chef. Most meals, you either had sandwiches, what your family cooked, school lunches, or pre-made food. You had no money for pizza, though, and the only edibles in your house didn’t look like they would combine to make anything. Waiting until your folks got home was out of the question; you were hungry, and now, so you got together all the stuff you could find and took a step back, trying to figure out what you could make. Mustard and baloney sandwich? Ew. Expired milk and cereal crumbs? Yuck. Cheeze-its and grated cheese? That wouldn’t fill you up. You had some food mixes, so you looked through them. Condensed milk? No. Corn muffins? No. Waffles mix? You didn’t have a waffle iron. There was one that said garlic noodles, though, and the picture looked tasty. You decided to try it.  
Once you figured out the oven and got the pot, you looked at the instructions; some milk, water, and butter stirred together. Bring it to a boil and then add the noodles. Seemed pretty straight-forward, so you put in the ingredients and cranked the burner up to ten. Leaning up against the opposite counter, you took out your phone, checking the mixture every once and a while. It didn’t seem to be boiling even after a few minutes. You decided to give it some more time and started scrolling through the contacts on your phone. You saw “Mikey” and smiled. I should text him, you thought. You started typing a message when you saw something out of the corner of your eye and looked up. Suddenly, the mixture rose and expanded like a muffin being baked in the oven, spilling over the top. Your eyes widened, and you jumped up, grabbing the pot and picking it up off the stove. Immediately it settled back down. Bewildered, you quickly put it down on a separate burner and turned the other back to zero. You cursed at the milky liquid now all over the stove. What the hell was _that_?  
Phone in hand, you went to look it up, only to see you’d sent your half-written message to Mikey.  
**You** : “Hey Mikey it’s [Y”  
**Mikey** : “What?”  
**You** : “Sorry, it’s [Y/n]. The thing I was cooking just blew up, and I didn’t get to finish writing that.”  
**Mikey** : “Ohhh, hey, dude! What’s up?? Wait, what were you cooking? Are you okay? Is your house on fire?”  
You snorted.  
**You** : “I was cooking these garlic noodle things, and I’m fine, the stove is just a little messy.”  
**Mikey** : “Oh, phew! Why are you cooking noodles? Just order pizza!”  
**You** : “I wish I could. I don’t have any money, though.”  
**Mikey** : “Ohhh, bummer man.”  
**You** : “Do you know anything about cooking?”  
**Mikey** : “Hmm, well, I make a wicked omelet!”  
**You** : “Haha, could you come over and make me one? I can’t cook to save my life.”  
It was sort of a joke, but you also wanted him to come over. You needed the company. And, more importantly, you needed the food.  
**Mikey** : “Yeah, dude, I’ll be up in a minute. Where’s your place again?”  
You told him and started trying to clean up the mess you’d made. You didn’t know what he’d need to make an omelet, other than eggs. What else did they have on omelets? Cheese, right? And then some green stuff, but you didn’t know what the green stuff was supposed to be, so you just got out the cheese and eggs. A few minutes later, you heard tapping on your living room window. You ran over and opened it. Mikey stood there, grinning.  
“Hey, man!” He exclaimed, high-fiving you.  
“Hey, man.” You showed him the kitchen and told him about the noodle fiasco you had.  
“What was in it?” He asked. You looked at him and thought for a moment.  
“Uhh, water, butter, and milk, I think,” you said, and he nodded and tapped his temple  
“Yeah, milk does that. You want to keep the heat low.”  
“Oh, really? Shit, I didn’t know that,” you replied, feeling a little dumb. You probably shouldn’t have put the heat up to 10 regardless of what you were cooking. Mikey looked at the ingredients you had out. He went to the fridge and pulled out milk. “What’s that for?”  
“Makes the eggs fluffy,” he replied, turning around and looking in your cabinets. He pulled out a small bowl, a fork, and a spatula. “Got a frying pan?”  
“Like, a skillet? Yeah. We’ve got a normal one and then a big one.”  
“The normal one is chill,” Mikey put two eggs in the bowl and added some milk and then used the fork to stir it up. “Turn the burner up to 3 and put some butter in the pan.”  
“What’s the butter for?” You asked, doing what he said.  
“It keeps the egg from sticking to the pan, so you can do sick flips with it.” You laughed.  
“How much butter do I need?”  
“For that pan? Uh, probably a tablespoon.”  
“What’s a tablespoon?”  
“Oh boy, dude, how do you even feed yourself?”

Ten minutes later, you and Mikey sat at your kitchen table, munching on some mind-blowing omelets. They were just the right amount of cheesy and fluffy, with a little bit of salt and pepper added. You licked your fingers after finishing.  
“Man, how do you do that? That was so quick, and it’s so good!” You marveled, wishing you knew how to make them so you could make them all the time. Mikey grinned.  
“It just takes practice. Make food, eat it, make it better, eat more; the moral is to just keep eating,” he bragged. You laughed.  
“Guess I should start gorging myself, then I’ll become a good cook.”  
He winked and pointed at you. “Now you got it.”  
You laughed again. “Seriously, though, where’d you learn to cook?” He shrugged.  
“I guess it’s just putting together what I had until I got something tasty. That, and raiding April’s kitchen all the time and trying to make stuff myself.”  
“Who’s April?” You asked. Mikey’s jaw dropped.  
“I didn’t tell you about April?” You shook your head. He looked stunned. “Oh my god, okay, so April is the most gorgeous chick ever. She actually like, knew my brothers and me when we were little, and like, saved us from a fire and everything--”  
“Wait, you have brothers?!”  
“Oh boy, dude, I have so much to tell you.” He said, giving you a breathless look. You grinned.  
“Well, I’ve got nothing but time, so let’s hear it.”  
Mikey had three brothers and a father, who was a rat. He knew three other humans named April, Casey, and Vern, who you’d heard of before. He told you about the whole thing with that Shredder criminal, and you were amazed to learn that it was him and his brothers who took him down and that Vern had taken all the credit. He brought up the bubble-gum alien, which he’d mentioned before, but told you about the wormhole and the alien ship and the purple ooze that could have turned them human. After a while, you stifled a yawn. It was getting late.  
Mikey stopped and gave a cheeky grin. “What, am I gettin' boring?”  
“What? No, it’s just that--” He laughed.  
“I’m playin’, dude. What time is it?” He looked around, and you grabbed your phone.  
“Like, two in the morning,” He looked alarmed.  
“Wait, really?” You nodded. Mikey stood up, throwing his paper plate away. “I gotta go, dude, I didn’t mean to stay so late, but this was fun. I need to come back and teach you how to cook.”  
You chuckled. “Yeah, you do. See ya later, Mikey.”  
You stood up and hugged him, and he left. You sat back down and sighed. You were hungry again, but unwilling to cook again, so you decided to just go to bed. You laid there for a while, though, thinking about how incredible Mikey’s life was. And how incredible he was. How did you manage to meet someone so _cool_?

~~~

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